Reports - AHRO Ahwaz Human Rights Org

The Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (Ahro) opposed the deliberate omission of a phrase related to the suppression of the Ahwazi Arabs when the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made his speech and translated by VOA Persian.

Ahro states the Secretary of State concerned about the arrest of hundreds of Ahwazi Arabs. Sec Pompeo said: It’s why the regime arrests hundreds of Ahwazis, members of Iran’s minority Arab community, when they speak out to demand respect for their language and for their basic beliefs”.

The Persian interpreter of the VOA deliberately miss-interpreted the phrase of “Ahwazis” by saying that the Iranian regime arrested hundreds of “Azharis” due to their believes.

Ahro added if the translator assumed that he did not understand the word "Ahwazis" properly and translated "Azhari", how he did not hear the words “ Iran’s minority Arab community” which was quoted by Minister Pompeo.

Furthermore, Ahro also wondered whether the translator’s action was deliberate or inadvertent? Why was the word "Ahwazis" distorted to "Azhari" and why was the entire phrase " Iran’s minority Arab community" deleted?

The Ahwaz Human Rights Organization reported to the US officials and asked for clarification. Moreover, other Persian-speaking American channels such as “Radio Farda” and others did not address the Pompeo’s concerns regarding Ahwazi Arabs, and Ahro believes that there is an old policy of marginalizing minorities voices in these channels."

Dr Karim Abdian, Director of Ahro, says Ahwazi Arab cause and other non-Persian nations of Iran were discussed with the US administration and the their suffering and suppression presented to the world. Abdian added: "We in the Ahwazi Human Rights Organization and the Congress of Iranian nations and oppositions have gained remarkable achievements recently and conveyed the voice of Non-Persian nations and oppressed minorities in Iran to the administration of President Trump.

Abdian, also as the Supreme Advisor of the Democratic Solidarity Party of Al-ahwaz, said that the Farsi-speakers channels in America are under influence of "the Persian lobby in the US” and the Non-Persian nations sufferings are subjected to blackout of these channels. However, the new US administration has improved a lot with this regards, even though there is still media marginalisation like the deliberate omission of Ahwazi Arabs suffering during Pompeo’s speech translation.

Ahro said in its statement that it intensified its contacts during the last weeks and months and held frequent and ongoing meetings with the concerned parties in the administration, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the light of the popular protests of the Ahwazi Arabs and their violent suppression by the Iranian regime. There were hundreds of protesters have been arrested demanding the end of repression, poverty, marginalization and ethnic cleansing while their land provides more than 80% of oil and wealth in the country.

Ahro also added that the US Secretary of State's concern regarding "the suffering of the Ahwazi Arabs is appreciated and respected and should be well highlighted by the American media because it emphasizes the commitment of the United States to the values of defending human and minority rights, rather than manipulating translation."

Ahro called the VOA Persian and Broadcasting Board of Governors in the United States to clarify their attitude and correct the mistake of the interpreter so that the voice of the Ahwazi Arab minority in Iran would not be concealed in the official American democratic media, as Iranian national media, which is subject to the its government’s policies.

24/07/2018

Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation

Details: Reports; Last Updated: 24 July 2018

Iranian authorities have released around 450 Ahwazi Arab detainees who had participated in April protests against racism and marginalisation. 50 however, still remain in prison.
The 450 were released by heavy bails that ranges somewhere between 300 Million - 500 Million Tomans but about 50 detainees remain under custody as their families can not provide the bail.
According to the testimonies of released detainees, among the 50 there are women and underage boys and girls 20 of which are currently in Ahwaz central prison of “Sheiban” and 30 in “Sepidar” and ministry of intelligence secret detention centres.
The released detainees are waiting for the announcement of their court date, while the other 50 are undergoing sever physical and psychological torture to obtain forced confessions.
There are 6 women in “Sepidar” prison of Ahwaz. The 15 year-old “Maedeh Shaabni” is one of the detainees who has been in prison for the past 3 months for writing and chanting Arabic poems on discrimination, marginalisation, culture and history of Ahwazi Arabs in Iran.
The detainees were allowed to use the phone and call their families but only days after arrest and after bribing the prison staff.
According to reports there are no newspapers,TV, or radio and the detainees are absolutely disconnected from the outside world and they are kept in dirty unites where contagious diseases and lack of facilities and malnutrition has led to sickness of several detainees among them “Shaabni “.
Ahwazi Arabs, also known as Arabs of Iran took the streets on 28 march 2018 in protest to the systematic racism of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) that has disregarded the existence of millions of Arab citizens in a children show that supposedly introduced “ethnic diversity “ of Iran.
However days after and as IRIB officials refused to declare an official apology or amend the situation, the protests continued for more than 10 days and it turned to manifestations against all shapes and forms of discrimination and marginalisation that is being implemented by central government against Arab minority of Iran.
Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation (AHRO) condemns the crackdown of the peaceful protests and the detention of citizens who were arrested for participating in the protests and calls upon the Iranian government to release the 50 women, children and men who are still living under dire situation in notorious prisons of Ahwaz.
Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation (AHRO)
27 May 2018

Details: Reports; Last Updated: 27 May 2018

On Monday morning April 16, 2018 families of almost 500 Ahwazi Arab detainees from recent Ahwaz protests gathered in front of governmental institutions demanding the release of their loved ones.
According to the last reports and videos received from inside of Ahwaz the Iranian security forces have threatened the families with arrest and detention however, their gathering continues.
The 500 citizens were arrested and detained following their participation in anti -racism/discrimination demonstration against Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.
Similatiously other family members gathered in front of the offices of Ahwaz representatives in Iranian Majles (parliament), Mr Ali Sạri and jawad Al-bạji .
According to Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (AHRO)’s sources families will continue their manifestations in front of the revolutionary court and security offices and agencies and other MP’s offices in coming days until the fate and whereabouts of their children ,wives, sons and daughters are disclosed.
The families of detained Ahwazi Arab citizens have also signed a joint statement that discloses that there are dozens of women and teenagers under 18 years, among the detainees.
In this joint statement they have called on governor of Khuzestan to take action as they have been following up the news of their family on daily basis with no avail. And unfortunately non of the responsible institutions such as branch 12 of Ahwaz revolutionary court have replied to their enquirers and there was no possibility to contact the judge who is repressible for their cases.
The statement urges the Iranian authorities to release the detainees because they believe their children, wives and husbands as Ahwazi Arabs have rightfully participated in the peaceful demonstrations to defend their ethnic identity against the hate speech and racism of Iranian national TV.
They also added that these young activists were asked for civil rights under constitution but they were arrested for no reason at home, their workplace and even in the street.
Unfortunately, instead of responding to the demands of the people, Iranian government officials have taken security measures yet again and turned the area into a large military barracks and continued arbitrary arrests
It is worth mentioning that the protests of the Arab people of Iran started in response to channel 2 program on national TV which denied Ahwazi Arab existence on Iran’s map .However it continued to reach protest against other form of racism and discrimination against Arabs in Iran such as Islamic Republic of Iran policies of demographic change, forced immigration of Arabs from their land by cutting water on farmers, and bringing emigrant workers from other provinces on the expense of unemployment of indigenous Arabs.
Other demands of the Arab people are the right of education in their native language, unpaid wages , the transfer of water from Karoon tiver that is on the verge of disappearance, the erosion of the process of environmental degradation, arbitrary arrests , lack of freedom of press and independent media in Arabic.
Ahwaz Human Rights Organization is deeply concerned with the well-being of the detainees and emphasises the right of the Ahwazi Arab people to continue peaceful demonstrations, and calls for an end to the crackdown of these legal gatherings and the immediate and unconditional release of all detainees.
Ahwaz Human Rights Organization
April 16, 2018

Details: Reports; Last Updated: 17 April 2018

Near family member of an Ahwazi Arab poet has informed AHRO that “Abdul-al Duraqi" who was arrested during recent Ahwaz protests, that he was transferred to Ahwaz's Sepidar hospital on Saturday due to deterioration in his physical condition after severe torture in the Ahwaz intelligence centre.
Through a call with Ahwaz human rights organization, the source emphasised that, despite the very unhealthy situation of Mr. Duraqi he was transferred by security forces to the detention centre of the central prison “Sheiban” in Ahwaz after promptly and temporary treatment.
It is worth mentioning that Abdulal Duraqi, 50 years old, resident of Cantex area was arrested on April 5th by the Ahwaz Information intelligence and suffers from various respiratory and cardiac diseases.
He has been summoned, arrested and imprisoned for numerous cultural activities and for his epic and national poems.
Two weeks after the peaceful demonstration of the Ahwazi Arab people, the number of detainees charged with participation in protests has reached 400.
Ahwaz Human Rights Organization condemns the ongoing crackdown on protests and arrests of Ahwazi Arab citizens who peacefully demonstrated in different cities of Ahwaz( Khuzestan province) in the past days.
Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation
9 April 2018

Details: Reports; Last Updated: 09 April 2018

On Wednesday morning thousands of Ahwazi Arabs rallied in front of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) building against a program that disregarded them as an ethnicity on Iran’s map and expressed their rejection of the policies of racial discrimination, national oppression, insulting the Arabs and removing them from their areas and housing the immigrants(settlers) from other provinces

The demonstrators chanted the slogan “Ahwaz is ours ,we will never give it up" in the midst of the of halahil( Arab women ovations) in order to prove the identity of their land.

Demonstrators dressed in Arabic traditional clothes and raised slogans in both Arabic and Persian and called on the radio and television officials to apologise to the Arab people and to reprimand the officials of the program.

Other gatherings in Abadan, ma'ashur and other cities in the region have been organized in recent days to denounce the anti-Arab racist wave in Ahwaz in general and in the national Iranian media in particular.
Click here to watch the video
Ahwaz Human Rights Organization
28 March 2018

Details: Reports; Last Updated: 28 March 2018

The Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (AHRO) condemns the killing of peaceful demonstrators against the dictatorial regime, who are demanding their basic rights. The peaceful demonstrations entered their seventh day on Thursday, January 4, 2018, with continuing protests in various Iranian cities. According to official reports the total number of death increasing now at 23 and more than 1,000 people arrested as protests continue in various Iranian cities.
The AHRO welcomes the position of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, who expressed his regret about the killing of participants in the peaceful demonstrations in Iran. He urged and asked the Iranian government to respect the rights of the Iranian people to express their views freely and to hold peaceful gatherings and peaceful protests.
The AHRO also warmly welcomes the decision taken by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Wednesday, 3 January 2018, in response to the demonstrations in Iran against the Iranian regime and demanded "the prevention of violence and respect for freedom of expression. “We call upon Iran to refrain from using excessive violence and to respect the freedom of citizens and their right to peaceful expression and demonstration," said Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The organization salutes the thousands of Ahwazi demonstrators who came out in the cities of the province, especially in Alfalahiya, Ahwaz, Abadan, Mohamera, Tasar, Eazage, Mashour and other locations in that region. Where they demanded their national rights and the stopping of the policy of repression of the authorities against them. Also calling for a fight against corruption and dictatorship and the release of political prisoners.
Therefor the AHRO strongly condemns the continued suppression of the peaceful uprising, calling on the international community to stand with protesters throughout Iran, protect peaceful gatherings, marches and demonstrations and listen to the demands of the Iranian society's constituents including all its peoples and nationalities.
Also, the organization encourage the Ahwazi Arab people to abide by the peaceful and effective presence of the comprehensive uprising for Freedom and Rights in Iran by focusing on their national and humanitarian demands.
Ahwaz Human Rights Organization- AHRO  January 4, 2018

Details: Reports; Last Updated: 05 January 2018

The Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (AHRO) strongly condemns the assassination of Ahwazi-Arab activist, Mr. Ahmad Mola Neisi, an Iranian dissident in front of his home in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday evening, November 8, 2017, by unidentified gunmen as reported by Dutch media.

The circumstances of the assassination are still unclear, since no statement has been issued by the police or the Dutch authorities so far. Therefore, AHRO calls for an urgent investigation into the circumstances of the case and the release of the names and the identifies of perpetrators of the assassination of activist Ahmad Neisi, the leader of the Hraketa-e-Elnidal Alrabi Litahrir Alahwaz, and an Iranian exiled dissident group in Europe.

Is the Iranian regime behind this heinous and the cold-blooded assignation, or is it complacent in it anyway? Dutch authorities are obligated to address this issue promptly.

AHRO, in its belief in the rejection of all forms of violence, reiterates its condemnation of all assassinations and inflicting of physical harms, and demands that the Dutch government promptly investigate the circumstances of the assassination of Mr. Ahmad Neisi. It also calls for providing the necessary security and protection for all Ahwaz-Arab refugees on Dutch soil. The Iranian regime indeed has a black record of assassinating its opponents abroad and inside Iran

Ahwaz Human Rights Organization

9 November 2017

Details: Reports; Last Updated: 09 November 2017

The Iranian Revolutionary Court in Ahwaz sentenced two Ahwazi activists to death. They are Abdullah Abdullahi and Qasim Bait Abdullah from Neighborhood shahour in of Shush. The court sent also 6 other activists, to the prison ranging from 3 to 30 years in the same case.

According to the verdicts of the court , the prison sentence was given to:

- Ahmad Abdellahi, 30 years old and a resident of Shosh, 25 years of prison.

- Majed Bait Abdullah, 23 years old, from the Khalaf al-Muslim village, 25 years of prison .

- Hassoun Beit Abdullah bin Abbas from the Derjal village, 31 years old, 25 years of prison.

- Hussein Abdellahi, 24 years old and the brother of the first accused and from Shahour district, three years of prison.

- Issa Abdellahi, 24 years old, and Majid Abdellahi, 24 years old , three years of prison each.

The activists above had been charged of countering the regime by spreading anti-government propaganda and undermining national security by forming the "Jund al-Faruq" organization. They have been tortured by Iranian security since they were arrested in 2015.

Human rights activists in Ahwaz believe that there is no real existence of the so-called "Jund al-Faruq" organization, and it is just an imaginary organization invented by the Iranian security services to eliminate Arab civil activists. In the last years, there have been similar examples of this phenomenon, where innocent Ahwazi activists have been arrested after being charged with involvement in organizations created by the iranian Security Service.

The Ahwaz Human Rights Organization expressed its concern about the increase in the number of random executions against Ahwazi activists and called on international organizations to intervene to stop the sentences issued against these activists and to hold a fair public trial in the presence of independent lawyers.

Ahwazi Human Rights Organization

6 September, 2017

Details: Reports; Last Updated: 07 September 2017

Dozens of Ahwazi Arab cultural activists were arrested and interrogated by the Iranian Intelligence Service prior to the celebrations of Eid “Al-adha" in Ahwaz during the past few days.
According to the sources of Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation (AHRO) the Iranian authorities carry out these arrests each year around this time to intimidate Ahwazi Arabs who gather to celebrate this holy celebration.

The following individuals were arrested by the Iranian security forces on Sunday 27th of August 2017.

   1-Riyaz Zeheri, 21 yesrs old from Mallashiya (Ahwaz)
   2-Jawad Hashemi 27 years old
   3-Hassan Hayawi (Elhaee) 28 years old
   4-Hassan Delfi 23 years old
5-Heidar Sawari 27 years old
   6-Milad Afrawi 22 years old
7-Shaker Sharifi 27 years old
8-Yasser Silawi 27 yeard old
   9-Sajad Nasiri (Elhaee) 22 years old
   10-Abbas Sharifi 21 years old
11-Ali Bawi 23 years old
12-Yousef Khasraj 20 years old
   13-Ahmad Heidari 15 years old

During the last efew days the following are the cultural activists who were also arrested:
   14-Khosro Saedi (Abo Emad)
15-Ahmad Daghagheleh (Al-helal cultural association)
16-Morteza Neisi
17-Saleh Manabi
18-Abdullah Saedi (Abo Taha), blogger of “ I am a culturist” website
19-Fahad Hamadi
20-Aziz Kenani ( Head of Funon culture association)
21-Nabi Neisi ( Head of Moaalem(Teacher) association)
22-Hadi Saebi (An Ahwazi Mandaie activist)
23-Mahdi Koroshat
24-Adnan Abyat
   25-Abbas Sawari
   26-Mohsen Sawari
   27-Yaqub Heidari
28-Basem Badwi
29-Masoud Hardani
30-Ali Dahaimi
31-Saeed Tamimi
   32-Yasin Bawi
33-Farid Anafcheh
34-Saeed Khedri
35-Wesam Shorfeh

AHRO calls upon the international community to apply put pressure on the Iranian authorities to respect freedom of speech and the right of peaceful gathering as stated in Articles 19 ”Right to freedom of opinion and expression” and 20”Right to freedom of assembly and association” of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

AHRO also condemn the arbitrary arrests of Ahwazi Arabs by the Iranian security forces as it is a blunt violation of their human rights and the international law. In addition AHRO calls for the immediate release of these detainees without inflicting physical and mental torture upon them.

Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation (AHRO)
30th August 2017

Details: Reports; Last Updated: 30 August 2017

Mohammad Ali Amouri, a 40-year-old minority rights activist from Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority and a founding member of a now-disbanded cultural rights group called Al-Hiwar (meaning “Dialogue” in Arabic), has been on death row since 2012. Rahman Asakereh, another founding member of Al-Hiwar, aged 41, has been serving a 20-year prison sentence since 2011. Both men have been punished for their peaceful activities at Al-Hiwar, which included promoting Arabic culture and identity through poetry events, language classes and reading sessions, voicing demands for newspapers in the Arabic language, and conducting community education to reform traditional practices among Arab clans which are harmful toward women and girls.

Mohammad Ali Amouri was arrested in January 2011 after he was deported to Iran from Iraq despite being a recognized refugee under UNHCR protection. He had left Iran in 2008 after repeated interrogations and dismissal from his teaching position.

Rahman Asakereh was arrested together with several other founding members of Al-Hiwar shortly after, in February 2011. At the time of his arrest, he was studying for a Master’s Degree in Social Sciences at the University of Ahvaz and was working on a dissertation about the challenges faced by bilingual students in Iran’s education system. He had set up a private library at his home in Ramshir (Khalafabad) where youth could borrow books about Arab history and culture.

The arrests of Al-Hiwar members followed years of harassment by intelligence and security officials, who had repeatedly summoned the activists for interrogation and accused them of “espionage”, “collusion with Ba’athist currents” and “espousal of ethnic tension”.

Following their arrests, Mohammad Ali Amouri and Rahman Asakereh were held for several months in solitary confinement in a secret detention centre in Ahvaz, which was controlled by the Ministry of Intelligence. They have said that, during this period, they were repeatedly tortured, including through sleep and food deprivation, kicking, beatings with electric cables and gas hoses and suspension from the ceiling. The torture was aimed at extracting false “confessions” about the men’s involvement with an armed group intent on overthrowing the Islamic Republic. The exact name and profile of this armed group was never made clear by the authorities.

In June 2012, Mohammad Ali Amouri and Rahman Asakereh stood trial before Branch Two of the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz. The court dismissed the men’s allegations of torture without ordering an investigation, and relied on their forced “confessions” to convict them of “enmity against God” (moharebeh). Branch 32 of the Supreme Court upheld the sentence in December 2012.

In early 2014, Rahman Asakereh was transferred to Mashhad’s Vakil Abad prison in north-eastern Iran, which is very far from his family’s place of residence in southern Khuzestan province. This has inflicted further pain and suffering on Rahman Asakereh and his wife and four children, who cannot afford the cost of travel to see him.

Full Amnesty report: https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE1364462017ENGLISH.PDF